What is Fifteen Minutes?
by sunshinecity
Summary: We’re either too lazy or too ignorant to actually get to know eachother. We stick with our own kind just to play it safe, because this place we call high school, is a jungle, and it’s easy to get lost. Major NH, some LB and JP.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Hey Guys! I deleted my first two stories, because I got tired, and didn't want to update them because the storylines we're a bit unoriginal. I got the inspiration from this story while watching a few episodes from season 4, and I got a good idea. Hopefully I stay interested in this story.

It's a bit short, but the chapters will get longer as I keep going, I just need to know if youg guys are liking it, or not. So review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything One Tree Hill related, I wish I owned James Lafferty, but I don't, unfortunately.

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What is fifteen minutes? Can fifteen minutes change your life?

Can you go from pretty and popular to dark and misunderstood in fifteen minutes?

Will you find the love of your life in fifteen minutes, or maybe even lose the one person you care about the most?

Fifteen years, fifteen months, fifteen days.

Fifteen hours, fifteen minutes, fifteen seconds.

It can make a difference; you just haven't figured it out yet.

We're sitting here in homeroom with people we've gone to school with for the past four years. Some of us are best friends, some of us are enemies, and some of us haven't had the chance to figure out what we are.

We know that that one girl over there is a slut, and the one sitting over there is still a virgin, or that the boy sitting in front of me is jock and that my best friend, Lucas, sitting next to me is a bastard, and we all know that, myself, Haley James, is a nerd.

At least, we think we know. But do we really?

We give each other labels, because we're either too lazy or too ignorant to actually get to know the person. We stick with our own kind just to play it safe, because this place we call high school, is a jungle, and it's easy to get lost. And when you get lost, it's hard to find your way back.

To me, today is just another day at Tree Hill High, and I love it. I love school, I love math, I love being good at something. The thing I love the most about it, is being away from home, being away from the chaos that is my family. Being the youngest of six kids has definitely given me the title of "baby" in the family, but I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a junior in high school, and I would like to be treated like one. Today is just another day at Tree Hill High, but for my best friend, Lucas, it's another day is has to see his half-brother, and be reminded that his father didn't want him.

And I always complain that my mom and my dad are so annoying, and that they are always embarrassing me, but sometimes I have to remind myself that my dad and my mom are still around and that they love me. Luke's father never claimed him, and I think that's why he and I have been such great friends for so long. It's always been just him and his mom Karen, and when I met Luke in the third grade, I realized that his family was so tiny, and my family was so big, that he needed me more. Ever since then, Luke and I have been attached at the hip.

Lucas' half brother Nathan is a jock. A real, arrogant jock. Just like the ones we see in movies and on television. He and Lucas are complete opposites; you'd never guess they were even related. The only thing they have in common is their obvious skill in basketball and piercing blue eyes, obviously things they've both inherited from their father, the spawn of all evil, Dan Scott.

I've never met Dan Scott, and Lucas hasn't either. Three months after Lucas was born, Deborah Lee, Dan's latest girlfriend gave birth to Nathan. Shortly after Nathan was born, Dan skipped out, and hasn't been seen in Tree Hill since. It's probably a good thing, because who knows who else he could've gotten pregnant.

The point is Nathan is a jerk, and the king of THH. His girlfriend Peyton Sawyer is a mess, and absolutely nothing like Nathan, and maybe that's why we get along. Peyton's best friend, Brooke Davis, is the female Nathan Scott, except she's the head cheerleader rather than the head basketball player, and I'm seriously wondering why Peyton would bother with either of them, because they hardly deserve anything but each other because that's all they care about, and then there's just me, and just Lucas, and right now, all we have is each other, and in fifteen minutes everything is going to change, and we don't even know it yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Thanks everyone that reviewed and like the first chapter! I don't know if I'll be doing the whole two chapters in one day thing, this was just lucky. I didn't have to work, and I didn't have school, so things were really laid back. Things are going to start happening in this story soon, and I really hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything One Tree Hill related.

He walked down the hallways of Tree Hill High like he was king. He always has his posse following behind him, Peyton Sawyer standing on his left, and Tim Smith on his right. The sad thing was that he _was_ like king. At least, that's how people treated him. They treated him like he was God because he could shoot some free throws and dribble a ball. Lucas can be just as good as he is, and I wish they could treat him like a God, just so I could see a smile creep his broody face once in a while.

After homeroom today, I went straight to the tutor center. The tutor center is like my third home after my house, and Lucas' house. I go there to help people, to see that light go off in someone's head after they've finally understood what they were supposed to be doing. It gives me pleasure to see other people realize they can do something they couldn't do before. I feel worthy when I make somebody else feel worthy.

I was in there for a while, just looking over some practice tests, and filing away some papers when Lucas came in and sat next to me at my table.

-"Hey buddy, what ya doin'?" He took some papers out of my hand and started looking through them.

-"Luke! You can't do that, these are private!" I snatched the papers out of his hand, and hit him lightly on the shoulder. We just sat there for a bit, as I organized my paper, and he just watched and I finally asked him, "Luke, what are you doing here anyways?"

-"I was bored, thought maybe you wanted to hang out."

-"Well, I'm kind of busy right now, and don't you have basketball practice after school?" He looked down and rubbed his hands over his face.

-"Hales," he said. "I don't know if I'm gonna keep doing this basketball thing." I was shocked.

-"What?" I asked. "But you love it, Luke, and you're so good at it!"

-"I don't know, it's not fun when your team mates hate your guts."

-"They're still harassing you, hey?" I looked at him and gave him a weak smile. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I said to him, "Luke, if there was something I could do, I'd do it in a heartbeat, and I'd do anything to help you, but go to basketball practice, things will get better."

Lucas left the tutor center moments later, and left me alone to finish correcting some work sheets. I was alone for only a few minutes when I heard somebody at the door. I turned to find Brooke Davis standing there, looking like a super model, not exactly sure why she was even standing there in the first place. Lucas has always had a crush on Brooke, and I understand why. She's gorgeous. She had perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect face, and a perfect body. But she was anything but. She was the most popular girl in school, and she would get any guy she wanted. Unfortunately for me, she was cruel to anyone that wasn't her friend. Her inner circle was tight, and you'd have to be rich, or gorgeous to get into her group of friends, and I was everything but.

-"Um, can I help you?" I ask reluctantly. I didn't really want to help her; she had her minions for that.

-"You're Haley James, right?"

-"That's me."

-"I need your help," She came and sat down next to me, setting her purse on the table. "I really, really, need your help." I looked at her and almost hesitated to ask what she needed.

-"What do you need?"

-"I'm totally flunking calculus right now, and my dad said that if I don't get my grades up, he's cutting me off. And I don't know what I'd do, I figured that money would get me by and I wouldn't have to do any school work but apparently now if I want money I'm going to have to do my school work, and I'm going to have to do it good. Unfortunately I'm not that smart, and I heard you're really smart, and I really, really need you to help me." I looked at her, mouth wide open in shock. She took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, I'm rambling." I looked at her and smiled.

-"I don't think I've ever met anyone that could ramble on as much as I can." We both laughed, and it lightened up the mood a bit.

-"So, can you help me?" She asked.

-"Um, yeah I guess. It's what I do, I tutor people." She looked at me, and gave me the most genuine smile I'd ever seen Brooke Davis give anyone that wasn't her follower. She hugged me tight, and I couldn't believe it.

-"Thank you, so much!" She said. "This room is kind of depressing though. Would you, like, rather come to my house, because I feel, like, super uncomfortable here." I looked at her and laughed.

'Sure," I said. "Just give me a place and time, I'll be there." She wrote her address on a piece of paper and told me to meet her at her house at 6:00 that night.

And for the first time, I saw a different side of Brooke Davis. It wasn't the slutty, popular side that everyone talks about. It was a genuine side, a grateful side, and a side I really enjoyed.

And in those fifteen minutes I'd been sitting in the tutor center, everything was changing.

I hadn't even noticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thanks everyone that reviewed! I'm happy that you guys like it so far. I've never ever updated a story like this before. I've never gotten passed a second chapter, so I think I'm really into this story. I know it's a bit of a slow start, but we're getting there, really. Just keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything One Tree Hill related.

Here I am, standing at Brooke Davis' door. The big white Victorian house and the bright red door in front of me are seriously making me regret my decision to ever help her, let alone come to her house.

'_What a terrible waste of space._' I thought to myself. With six kids in my family, we could've used a house this big, but most of us had to share rooms, and my parents weren't exactly wealthy. My dad fixed cars with Keith for a living, and my mom was a substitute teacher. We didn't exactly ring in the big bucks. As far as I knew, Brooke Davis was an only child, and how fair is that?

I could've easily just turned on my heel and walked back to my house and forgotten about our arrangement, because something told me this wasn't for real anyways. Maybe this was some practical joke. But something in me made me ring the doorbell, and as soon as I did, I was regretting it instantly.

The bright red door opened, and there she was. Brooke Davis. Brooke Davis with her long brunette locks combed back into a long sleek ponytail, wearing only a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I hadn't seen a Brooke Davis like this before.

-"Hey buddy!" She greeted me. I was feeling a little awkward if you asked me.

-"Um, hi." I waved shyly.

-"Come in! Come in!" She said, waving me into the door. I followed her through her home, a little more in awe every time I entered a different room.

-"You have a really beautiful home." I said. She turned around to face me, with a sly grin on her face.

-"Just wait until you see my bedroom! You'll love it." She grabbed my hand and started up the stairs. "I've got a closet to die for! You know, if you want you can borrow something some time. I don't really mind." And that's when we entered her room. It was probably the size of my bedroom, my parent's bedroom, and one of my brother's bedrooms put together. Against one wall was a huge Victorian princess bed with white silky looking covers, with lots of pink fuzzy pillows, and against another was a dark mahogany computer desk where a wicked flat screen computer monitor sat. She had a mannequin in a corner standing next to a sewing machine. I guessed that she liked to make clothes. Across from her bed was a large flat screen television hanging on the wall and next to that was a bulletin board covered in pictures. Her walls were a light barely there pink. Everything looked very simple and elegant, but _very_ expensive.

I walked around her room, taking everything in, as she rummaged through her desk to find her calculus text book. I ran my finger over the silky covers on her bed, and took in the scent of her computer desk of mahogany. I glanced over at her bulletin board full of pictures and recognized most of the faces I saw. There was a lot of her and Peyton Sawyer in their cheerleading uniforms, or in their bathing suits, or at parties. There was a ton of pictures with Peyton holding on to Nathan and Brooke with some other random guy. And that's how it looked with most of the other pictures. It looked like it was always just Brooke and some random guy, a new guy in every picture. I looked closely at a picture with Brooke, Peyton, Nathan and Tim Smith, and I examined Nathan Scott closely. He had the same cobalt blue eyes that Lucas had, but everything else was different. Lucas was taller than Nathan, but Lucas was skinnier than him also. Nathan had muscles, and really, really nice chiseled abs. It was a shame he was a jerk. He had dark, almost black, brown hair, and Lucas was as dirty blonde as it gets.

-"So, you're like, dating Lucas Scott right?" I nearly choked on my own saliva.

-'WHAT? Where did you hear that? EW!" She started laughing.

-"Why? Whenever I see you two together, you look so into each other." I was ready to shoot up and die. Never would I EVER think of Lucas in a non asexual way.

-"Trust me, Lucas Scott is like a brother to me. I would never think of him in that way. Ew."

-"So, what you're saying is, he's single?"

-"Oh yeah, Luke is as single as it gets."

-"Is he gay?" She said this seriously, no hint of a joke or humor or anything. "Because, how could a guy like him still be single."

-'Trust me Brooke, he's single."

----

It might've been extremely unbelievable, but Brooke Davis and I were actually having a good time. We got to know more about each other, and hardly spent any time on studying calculus. I hadn't hung out with an actual girl in forever, and it felt nice to go on with that girly banter for once.

-"So, Tutor Girl, you're not into anyone?" She asked me.

-"Besides Lucas, I haven't really socialized with anyone before."

-"Well, you should meet some of the guys I hang out with. You'd love them. We'd just have to fix that hair of yours, and maybe find you a new outfit, and you'd look perfect!" I tried to ignore the comment about my hair, and my clothes, and just nodded my head in agreement.

-"So, you should, like, come to a party tomorrow night, at Nathan's beach house. It would be fun. Bring Lucas too." I couldn't believe she was inviting me to a party. Of all people, me.

-"Well, I don't really know Nathan that well, and I wouldn't bring Lucas to his beach house. But thanks anyways."

-"Oh right, they've got that half brother hatred thing going on. We could change that though, right?"

-"Ha, well, I don't know. The guys on the team have been bugging Luke pretty bad, and I really don't think he'd like to put up with it at a party, in front of lots of people."

-"Aw, come on Haley! Just come, I promise I'll make it worth while. You guys won't even be bothered by Nathan and his posse!" And that's when I caved. I don't know what made me do it, but I did it.

-"Sure," I said. "We'll come."


End file.
